A Christmas Present for Captain Cold
by CadetAnnie4Jesus
Summary: Ever since Leonard Snart has been locked up in Iron Heights for freezing his father, Golden Glider and Heat Wave haven't been the same. Lisa misses her brother and wants him home for the holidays. Mick misses his best friend. They come up with the perfect gift to give, that may also help Len escape. Will they get him out before Christmas Eve? Or does Central City have other plans?
1. The Gift Idea

Heat Wave was sprawled out on the couch of the Rouge's apartment channel surfing. Everything that was on was some sort of Christmas/Hallmark movie, and it was driving Mick crazy. He finally found a near beginning showing of _The Terminator_ and leaned back a bit more to relax. However, within two minutes of watching the film, commercials started rolling. He let out a loud groan. They all showed happy families dressed in thick Eskimo jackets, smiling as they gave each other different gifts depending on what store the commercial was sponsoring. Mick had to resist the urge to throw the remote at the screen.

He hated Christmas, everyone was so giddy and cheerful, and it had nothing to do with psychological and physical violence. Also it was FREEZING! The cold was more Len's thing… of course Len aka Captain Cold was still in prison for shooting that pile of trash that was supposed to be his and Lisa's father. Dang it, just when he had Len had started to get along, become real partners, real friends, Len had got put back in prison. Now he was stuck here bored out of his mind, waiting for Lisa to get back with some drinks so he could get drunk.

Speak of the devil, he heard a key being put into the front door and the jingle of the doorknob being turned. Lisa Snart walked in confidently, holding multiple bags stuffed full of groceries.

"Hey Lis, bring me back a six pack?" he asked.

Lisa walked into the kitchen and heaved the bags onto the table. She rolled her eyes. "Seriously Mickey, you're still watching TV? Get off your butt and come help unload."

Reluctantly Mick rolled off the couch and began to rummage through the bags. "Hey," he complained. "There's no alcohol. Just a bunch of stupid food."

Lisa tapped her foot as she put a carton of milk in the fridge. She said, "Look Mick, I'm sad that Len's in jail too this holiday, but you need to stop moping around. You are _not_ getting drunk again tonight."

Mick growled at her. "I can get drunk whenever I want. You're no boss of me." He was about to add that he didn't miss Leonard, but he knew that both of them knew it was a lie. "I'm going to the bar." He huffed away and grabbed his wallet and motorcycle keys.

Suddenly, to Mick's surprise, Lisa stepped in front of him, blocking his path to the door. "Please. I'm sorry I didn't get your stupid alcohol. I can run back to the corner store and grab some. Just… please don't go." She sniffled and held back tears from her eyes. "I just don't think I can take another night of being alone."

Mick may be a psychopathic criminal, but he did have a heart, though it smaller it than most. He shook his head. "Fine, fine. I'll stay, but you're cooking. And no complaining if I take a smoke, I have a feeling I'm gonna need a whole pack tonight."

Lisa got to work on making dinner while Mick jumped back on the couch. He and Lisa remained silent as Mick watched his movie and fiddled with a lighter and his cigarette. He didn't know how he got himself into this situation. This emotional situation, having to watch his only friend's little sister, because she was too scared to stay home alone while her brother was in jail for killing their abusive father. Why did Leonard have to be so stupid and let himself get caught? Why didn't he try to fight the Flash? Didn't he know that Lisa would need him now more than ever?

Mick forced himself to stop thinking and watch the movie. It actually worked, it was one of his favorite movies. He laughed as one of the robots got blown up. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lisa set the table. He counted one, two plates. He saw Lisa pause, a third one still in her hand.

"Don't care!" Mick scolded himself. "She needs to learn to fend for herself. She has nothing to do with you! Just watch the stupid film."

Mick saw her eyes tear. He saw a drop of clear water fall from her eyes. He heard a muffled sob. Suddenly Mick exploded.

"That's it!" He screamed. "I can't take all this sadness and emotion anymore. We're breaking him out!"

Lisa wiped her eyes, still clutching the plate. "Mick, we can't. We'll get caught." She took a deep breath. "You know they moved Len to the metahuman section. They have ten times the security in that sector."

Mick threw his pack of cigarettes. It flew across the room and hit the wall, scattering its contents across the floor. "There has to be something we can do!" He slumped angrily in his chair.

Lisa placed the remaining plate on the counter. She grabbed the food from the stove and slumped in the chair next to Mick's, ignoring the cigarette mess. "Maybe," she said, "we can get him a present."

Mick let out a short laugh. He dug into the spaghetti and wolfed it down. "A Christmas present for the King of Cold. Why not." He laughed again, because laughing like a maniac was better than crying at this point.

"How are we going to do it? Anything we give him won't pass security. They'll assume it's a bomb." To Lisa talking was better than crying. Just talk.

Mick thought of an idea. "What if we pulled off a heist one that we'd be sure Len would hear of?" Again he gave Lisa a nasty smile and a maniacal chuckle. "Let's capture the Flash."

Lisa almost agreed, but thought better of it. "Lenny wouldn't want that. The Flash, he was the one that helped me. He and Cisco got the bomb out…" she froze. She couldn't breathe. Mick eyes went wide eyed. Before she could start to cry again he squeezed her hand. He quickly let go, and looked away. He hated being the soft one, but he realized that she was family to him. He could be soft for one day.

"Lisa, it's OK. I'm, I'm here for you. Lenny is alright. You're alright. No one's every going to hurt you again with me and your big brother to watch over you."

Lisa nodded. "Thanks Mick."

Mick continued. "What if," he suggested, "we do something to remind him that we're thinking of him. That we miss him. That we care." Mick had no idea where this was coming from. Whatever, it's Christmas. "Let's set off giant fireworks on Christmas Eve! We can even make them gold." Just the thought of giant explosions made Mick excited. "Not only will they be Snart's Christmas gift, we'll make them so big they'll be a diversion. We'll set them up on the other side of jail, so the cops will rush to that end. Then we can swoop in, grab Snart, set a fire, get out."

Again Lisa smiled but scolded Mick. "I appreciate the thought, I really do. But do you really think we can pull it off by ourselves?"

"Heck yah I do." He gobbled down the last of the spaghetti. "Let's get planning. We're getting Leonard out of that Hell Hole if the last thing I do."

Lisa finally agreed. She said, raising her glass, "For Lenny, the best big brother a girl could have."

Mick repeated, "For Len. The best darn business partner I've ever had."

They both took a drink of their water, and Mick instantly spit it out.

"UGGGH! Water, forgot it wasn't beer."

Golden Glider got up and punched Heat Wave lightly in the shoulder. "Fine, I'll go pick up a 6 pack. We can wait until tomorrow to start planning the rescue."

Again, Mick Rory's famous grin and laugh. "Now we're talking."


	2. A Heated Encounter

Beep! Beep!" Mick's alarm clock screeched as bright sunlight shone into his small bedroom. He swore the moment he realized he didn't have a headache. No headache meant he wasn't hungover, which meant he hadn't had any alcohol the night before. No alcohol made for a grumpy Mick.

Last night, after dinner, he and Lisa had headed out to get some booze. On the way, they passed by a frozen yogurt shop. Mick had been dragged in and forced to pay for two large bowls before he could let out a protest. Though he had enjoyed his cake batter-chocolate mix (topped heavily with toppings of course), they hadn't been able to get a drink afterwards. Lisa had been about to fall asleep, and one thing Mick refused to do was carry a sleeping Lisa back to the apartment.

He was about to slam his finger down on the snooze button when his nose suddenly picked up a heavenly scent. The smell could only be one thing; pancakes, his greatest weakness.

He heaved himself out of bed and quickly hopped in the shower. The moment he was done he hopped across the cold tile to his closet and threw on a semi-clean shirt and some blue jeans.

His nose lead him around the corner to the kitchen. Sure enough, Lisa was sitting next to a giant stack of blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes. Before Lisa could say "good morning", Mick had thrown six pancakes on his plate and covered them in half a bottle of high fructose maple syrup.

"What, no thank you?"

"Sthmnapx" Heat Wave mumbled unintelligibly through bites of berries and chips. He continued to inhale his breakfast while Lisa picked at hers, droning on about her plans for the day.

"I'm planning on getting my hair done today. I also need to stop by the bank to pick up some cash. A contact of mine has information about the guard schedule at Iron Heights that will be useful in breaking out Lenny. He'll need a small bribe though. There's a new antique store across town that I saw the prettiest curtains at, and I'm thinking about buying them for the windows. The ones we have now are a little bland, don't you think?"

Mick, halfway listening, grunted in acknowledgment. He continued eating, stopping only to get more syrup and a second helping.

"I'd love to go shopping too, you and Len could use some more Christmas sweaters. There's been large shipments of fireworks at some of the party stores in the area for New Year's preparation. I figured that I should go check them out and see if there's any that we could use."

Mick's ears pricked up. "Fireworks?" he repeated with his mouth full. "Count me in!"

Lisa seemed a little hesitant. "I was hoping you could swing by the hardware store and pick up some light bulbs. The one in the closet went out yesterday."

Heat Wave knew she was lying. "No way Lis," he said shaking his head and downing a glass of orange juice. "You are not ditching me from that job. I know more about explosives than anyone in this city."

Still, Snart seemed a bit hesitant. "It's just... Last time you went with me and Len to get weapons, you set off one of the bombs when playing with your heat gun. I'm not sure you'd be able to resist testing one out and causing a commotion."

He was ticked, slightly hurt, at her comments. But he was firm. "Your puppy dog face might work on some things, but not this. I may set something off. I may not. This is my expertise, and I'm not sending you to buy some tiny firecrackers or duds."

Lisa finally bended. "I'll approve of you coming, but we need to stop by the antique store first. It's on the way."

Mick grinned. He stood up, stuffed the last pancake in his mouth, and threw his plate in the sink. Grabbing the motorcycle keys, he tossed Lis hers.

"I better wait outside though, wouldn't want to break anything fragile," he said sarcastically.

Lisa rolled her eyes and punched Heat in the arm. "You big baby, I thought you liked being known as someone who broke stuff and set off explosions."

"You better believe it!" He roared.

The two hurried downstairs, Lisa taking the elevator while Mick jumped out the window and climbed down the fire escape. Mick was already on his motorbike by the time Lisa met him in the parking lot.

"Come on, we're burning day light!" he yelled over the engine while he did a donut around her.

Golden Glider gracefully slipped on her golden cycle and remarked, "Patience Mickey, who's babysitting who."

Together, the two sped through the city, keeping an eye out for cops. Within ten minutes, Lisa signaled for Mick to slow down. She yelled to him, "It's just around the corner!"

Sure enough, a quaint little antique store came into view. It was smashed between a coffee shop and a business office. It stood out due to the fact that two giant flower pots filled with bright carnations stood on either side of the door. A white banner hung above, reading "Grand Re-Opening". Mick could see a pair of curtains being displayed in the window sill. Mick nearly barfed.

"Yah, I think I'll sit this one out," he told her when she pulled up to the curb.

Lisa replied," Just watch the bikes, and I'll be out in a moment." At a last thought, even though Heat Wave had left his heat gun at home, she added, "Try not to start any fires."

He flashed his teeth. "Wouldn't dream of it."

As Lisa walked inside the shop, Mick pulled out his lighter. He flipped it on and off uncontrollably, staring at its irresistible flame. Already bored, he glanced around the street, looking for something to burn. His eyes locked onto the bright flowers, but he saw Lisa shopping through the window. Too risky. He was about to go looking for some trash, when he saw something that made him laugh. Just up the street, walking straight toward the shop, was a young Mexican boy who went by the name Cisco Ramon. He'd recognize that face anywhere. He always remembered the faces of those he had kidnapped. This was going to be fun.

He got off his bike and leaned against the back of a nearby tree, waiting for him to get closer. Mick could tell Cisco was walking and talking with another man, slightly taller with brown hair. It shouldn't be a problem though. Even if Heat didn't have his gun with him, it didn't mean he couldn't rile up Cisco a bit.

Cisco and the kid stopped in front of the antique pointed at Lisa's and his motorcycles and said something to his friend. That was Mick's cue.

"Checking out my wheels?"

Cisco jumped back and the other man tensed. Mick snickered.

"W..what do you want Heat Wave?" Cisco stuttered.

Heat Wave got closer. "I don't know. My heat gun hasn't had an upgrade in a while. Maybe you should come with me, give it a few tweaks." He flipped his lighter on. "Maybe do some target practice?"

Cisco stood up a little taller. "So you don't have your gun, huh? What are you going to do with a little lighter? I can call Flash up right now, and he'll put you in prison same as he did with Captain Cold."

Now Heat Wave was furious. He grabbed Cisco's shirt and lifted him in the air. He spat as he said, "Don't you dare talk about him. I can kill you without my gun, trust me. The only reason you aren't bleeding on the pavement right now is because you're Cold's sister's pet." He looked Cisco in the eyes. "You and the speedster may have saved Lisa's life, but you put her heart in jail. You locked up Len just when she needed him the most. I've heard you got your own powers Vibe, so leave the Flash out of this and fight your own fights, like a man."

"Hey!" someone called behind him. Mick, frustrated, whipped his head around. To his surprise, the Flash stood before him. The guy that was with Cisco must have ran off and got help! Without thinking, he dropped Cisco to the ground and charged blindly at the man in red. Before he was a foot from him, he felt himself being slammed on the ground. The Flash had his foot on his back. Pain roared down his spine.

"Stand down Heat Wave!" the Flash yelled. Mick went limp, complying.

Just as Flash loosened his hold, he swiped at the hero's foot. The Flash tumbled to the floor. Mick threw his hand and punched the Flash right in the face. He knew that would leave a mark. Just as quickly, the Flash was back on top of him. Mick struggled to get his arms free.

"STOP!" He glanced out of the corner of his eye. He saw Lisa running out of the building, curtain fallen on the ground.

"Stay out of this Lisa!" Mick yelled, still struggling. Lisa ignored him.

"Please, don't do this," she cried, not quite sure if she were talking to Mick or the Flash. She ran up to Mick and the Flash backed away from the two. Golden Glider helped Mick up. He wanted to tackle the Flash again, but she stood in the way.

"Come on Mick, it's not worth it. I don't want you getting locked away too. Please, Mickey, listen!" she begged.

Mick spit on the ground. "Don't you get it Lisa? Didn't you read the papers?" He turned his attention to the Flash. "Len didn't want to rob no one. When Lisa was safe, he just, he just gave up. Let his gun be taken." He felt tears in his eyes, but he convinced himself they were tears of anger. "Then you took him away. He didn't even fight back. You gonna take me in without my gun Flash? You want me to surrender, when I'm not doing anything wrong?"

The Flash remained expressionless. "Snart broke our contract. He killed someone. And both of you have done plenty of crimes in the past that deserve jail time."

Mick spit on the ground, again "I don't know why Snart didn't shoot you when he had the chance."

Flash was about to attack, when Lisa stepped in between the two men once more. "Please Flash, don't arrest him. I promise we weren't stealing. We were just Christmas shopping." She turned to Cisco. "Cisco, please tell him."

Cisco and Flash looked at each other. "Lisa," Cisco began. "We didn't want to put anyone in jail. It's only that, we're not sure we can trust Heat Wave not to hurt anyone."

Lisa looked to Mick, was red with anger. "Mick, you need to calm down. This isn't want Len would want. He had a reason for not shooting the Flash. I don't think I can stand going back home without you. It's hard enough with Lenny gone." Tears formed in her eyes. Mick was torn. He looked from Lisa to the Flash.

He finally dropped his hands. "Let's get out of here."

He walked over, picked up the shopping bag Lisa had dropped, and handed it to her. He silently hopped on his cycle. To Lisa's relief, the Flash let him. She mouthed a silent thank you to the boys. Mick zoomed off down the road, heading back to the apartment. Lisa followed worriedly.

"If only you were here, Lenny," she whispered as she raced to catch up with her partner. "Looks like your Christmas present is going to be harder to get than I thought.


	3. Running Away

Rory sped down the busy streets, getting honked at by various cars and taxis. He screamed in frustration. His voice was drowned out by the sounds of the highway.

"Stupid!" he yelled in his loud, deep voice. "They're all idiots. The Flash, Lenny, Lisa, me. Every one of us."

He headed back to their apartment. For a moment, Mick considered just driving straight past. Never coming back. He didn't, he knew Lisa was following him even if he couldn't see her. She knew how do be discreet when trailing someone, more than Mick knew how to out drive someone.

The moment Mick stopped his bike Lisa sped into the parking lot. She stopped her motorcycle as Heat Wave angrily stomped away.

"We need to talk," Lisa called.

"Not listening."

"Come on, you're being ridiculous. It's just the Flash. Let it go."

Mick stopped and turned on his heels. "This isn't going to work out. I think I need to head out of town for a few days."

Lisa shook her head. "Don't be stupid, we're family. I don't know why Len let himself get captured Mick. Sometimes brothers are just stupid like that. Like how you're acting now."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his lighter. He held it in front of his face so she could see it. "See this. This is all I care about. I'm what people call a pyromaniac. Obsessed with fire. I burned my house down when I was ten years old, with my family inside it. One day, I'm going to burn you, and then Cold will kill me. Cold is going to end up killing me no matter what, so I think it's in both of our best intentions for me to leave."

Mick flipped the light on. He stared at it. He wanted to throw the lighter on the ground. He wanted to smash his foot into it and break it into a million pieces. He knew he couldn't though, you can never escape a flame. You just have to keep feeding it, before it eats you.

Lisa knew tears couldn't change her friend's mind. Nothing could change her friends mind, but she could try help but try. "You selfish psychopath. You think I care that you're dangerous? We're all dangerous. Len would never hurt you, even if he threatened it. You're as much as his brother as you are mine, and Len is mine. You just attacked the Flash because he took Len away and left me alone. Are you that much of a hypocrite that you think leaving too will be better for me?"

"I left you to die dang it!" Mick was a very loud person when he was angry or emotional. "This isn't about Leonard. This is about me. They took Len and knocked you out, and I saw them put the bomb in your head. Yet, I just left. I didn't care, just grabbed the cash from the job and drove away. I imagined the explosion, the fire that would follow it, and I smiled. I actually smiled Lisa," he said. "How can you call me a brother, how can you call me family? After what I did to you."

Lisa stood dumbfounded. She didn't know what to say.

Mick walked back to his motorcycle. He had enough money in his coat to last him for a month. "Goodbye. I'm sorry."

And he drove away. For some reason he didn't feel mad, like he had felt a few minutes before. He felt sick. He knew Lisa wouldn't follow, and it made him sicker.

Mick drove without stopping out of the city and deep into the woods. There was a small cabin he knew about. He had no doubt Cold knew about it even though he had tried to make it secret. Hopefully Lisa didn't know. Hopefully he could outrun her. Never hurt her or Leonard.

Mick hid out for two days before getting too hungry and wandering into the nearest grocery store. He picked up some beer, a packet of ego waffles, and a large container of syrup. As he was exiting, he saw a small stand selling some sparklers. He remembered playing with those as a kid on the 4th of July. He grabbed one and looked it over. It was $2.99, way more than it was worth. The sparkler was slipped under his coat.

As he walked back to the cabin, he held the groceries in one hand and the little firework in the other. When he got home he threw the waffles on a pan and put them over a rusty oven. His eyes never left the sparkler.

Obviously he burnt the waffles, he was Mick after all. He once burnt himself pouring a bowl of cereal. He ate his dinner in silence. No matter how much syrup he poured on them, they still tasted like charcoal. They didn't taste anything like pancakes.

"Why did you leave?" Mick asked himself out loud. He probably looked crazy, which he was. "Was it because you're selfish, because you know Cold is going to kill you when he finds out you almost let his sister get killed? Are you really afraid you're going to burn them, like you did your old family? Or is it because you're tired of being around the girl? Does she remind me too much of my little sis?"

He thought about the date. December 11th. Thirteen days until Christmas. There was no way Lisa would give up on the plan. She would try to do it herself, and end up getting captured in the process. And then Len would have another reason to kill Mick. Was Lisa serious, that he meant as much to her and Len as they cared for each other?

"Fine. Fine. Fine," he eventually said. "I don't know if I'm selfish or not, but I'm still not going back. I can at least help Len get out of Iron Heights." He picked up the firework and twirled it in his fingers. "I swear Lisa, I'm not going to die by fire or ice. You and Len will be the death of me."

Heat Wave hopped on his bike and drove back into the city. He happened to know of another firework shipment across town that had been ordered by some millionaire for a New Year's Eve banquet. It would be the perfect target.

He stopped by the apartment and snuck in. Lisa was out, her motorcycle wasn't in the garage. He grabbed his heat gun and some money from under his bed. He saw a small pile of fireworks in the corner of the living room. Pathetic. He pulled out the sparkler and dropped it in the pile.

He couldn't help but grab a beer from the fridge and a bag of Doritos. Lisa would know he'd been here anyway when she saw the heat gun missing. Grabbing a pen and the back of a coffee shop receipt, he scribbled down a paragraph.

"Hey kiddo. Had to come back for my gun. I'll be back with some fireworks later, but don't wait around for me. I've been out of town the past few days, I'm fine. Stay safe Lisa. We'll get Len out. Mick."

The note lay on the kitchen table. He wasn't ready to show his face again. He couldn't bring himself to see her after what he had done. At least he could write her a note. It was time for him to leave. There was a job to be done.


End file.
